Pakistani Scientist in U.S. Court on Terror Charges

A US-trained neuroscientist's appearance in a New York court charged with
the attempted murder of American soldiers and FBI agents has sparked angry
protests in her homeland of Pakistan.

Aafia Siddiqui, 36, is under suspicion of having links to the al-Qa'ida
terror network of Osama bin Laden, and is the first woman ever sought by the
US in connection with the group, which was behind the September 2001 attacks
on the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon.

According to US officials, Ms Siddiqui, who reportedly studied at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston, was arrested in Afghanistan
on 17 July in possession of recipes for explosives and chemical weapons, as
well as details of landmarks in the United States, including in New York.

Yesterday's charges related only to events that allegedly took place shortly
after she was taken into custody in the town of Ghazni. Ms Siddiqui is
accused of grabbing hold of a rifle belonging to one of the soldiers who was
trying to arrest her and firing two shots at the men, while shouting phrases
like: "My blood be directly on your head." . . .